TWI514150B - Keyboard-video-mouse switch and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Description

KVM switch and its operation method

The present invention relates to a Keyboard-Video-Mouse Switch (KVM Switch), and more particularly to a KVM switch and an operation method thereof.

Generally, a conventional KVM switch is coupled between a peripheral device and a controlled computer. When the KVM switch operates in a Bypass mode, once the KVM switch receives the peripheral device. The signal, the KVM switch does not change the signal of the peripheral device, but directly transmits the signal of the peripheral device to the controlled computer.

It is assumed that the peripheral device coupled to the KVM switch is a keyboard. When one of the KVM switches is turned on, the user can operate a preset hot key (such as an Enter key or an ESC key) on the keyboard. Control different functions of the KVM switch (such as controlling the KVM switch to switch to a different controlled computer).

However, when the KVM switch is operating in bypass mode, hotkey data from peripheral devices (such as the Enter key, ESC key value or numeric key value) will be directly transferred to the controlled computer by the KVM switch, due to Some of the hotkey data (such as the Enter key, ESC key value, or numeric key value) will have some effect on the controlled computer (for example, in the word processing software, it will automatically jump to the next line or automatically jump off the original program). Screen), this will seriously affect the normal operation of the controlled computer, causing inconvenience and trouble to the user.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a KVM switch and method of operating the same to solve the above problems encountered in the prior art.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a KVM switch operator law. In this embodiment, the KVM switch operating method is used to operate a KVM switch, and the KVM switch is coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers.

The KVM switch operation method includes the following steps: (a) determining whether the hotkey mode of the KVM switch is turned on; (b) if the judgment result of the step (a) is YES, when the KVM switch receives When a first signal is sent from a specific controlled computer of the controlled computers, the first signal is directly transferred to a corresponding peripheral device of the at least one peripheral device; (c) when the KVM switch Determining whether the second signal includes a first data when receiving a second signal from a specific peripheral device for a predetermined period of time; and (d) if the determination result of the step (c) is YES, the second signal is The first data is replaced with a second data to form a third signal and the third signal is transmitted to a specific controlled computer, wherein the second data corresponds to a specific controlled computer and does not generate any effect.

In an embodiment, the step (c) comprises the steps of: (c1) determining whether the second signal is from a specific peripheral device when the KVM switch receives the second signal; and (c2) determining the step (c1) As a result, it is determined whether the second signal includes the first material.

In one embodiment, the specific peripheral device is a Human Interface Device (HID).

In an embodiment, if the determination result of the step (a) is no, the method further comprises the following steps: (b') when the KVM switch receives the first signal from the specific controlled computer, directly The signal is forwarded to a specific peripheral device; and (c') when the KVM switch receives the second signal from the specific peripheral device, the second signal is directly transferred to the specific controlled computer.

In an embodiment, if the result of the step (c) is no, the method further comprises the step of: (d') directly transferring the second signal to the particular controlled computer.

In an embodiment, the KVM switch operates in a bypass mode.

In one embodiment, the first material includes hotkey data that affects the function and operation of the controlled computers.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a KVM switch. In this embodiment, the KVM switch is coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers. The KVM switch includes a first transmitting/receiving module, a second transmitting/receiving module, and a control module group. The first transmitting/receiving module is coupled to the at least one peripheral device. The second transmitting/receiving module is coupled to the controlled computers. The control module is coupled to the first transmitting/receiving module and the second transmitting/receiving module respectively. The control module determines whether the hotkey mode of one of the KVM switches is turned on. If yes, the first transmitting/receiving module directly transfers a first signal received by the second transmitting/receiving module from the one of the controlled computers to the corresponding one of the at least one peripheral device. A specific peripheral device. When the first transmitting/receiving module receives a second signal from a specific peripheral device for a predetermined period of time, the control module determines whether the second signal includes a first data. If yes, the control module replaces the first data in the second signal with a second data to form a third signal, and the second signal is transmitted by the second transmitting/receiving module to the specific controlled computer, wherein the second The data corresponds to a specific controlled computer and does not have any effect on a particular managed computer.

Compared with the prior art, the KVM switch and the method of operating the same according to the present invention have the following advantages:

(1) When the KVM switch of the present invention operates in the bypass mode, even if the KVM switch receives hotkey data from a specific peripheral device (such as a keyboard) (for example, an Enter key, an ESC key value, or a numeric key value) ), the KVM switch will replace it with the second data and then transfer it to the controlled computer, so it can prevent the controlled computer from being affected by the hotkey data and cannot operate normally.

(2) Since the KVM switch may be coupled to a plurality of peripheral devices at the same time, the KVM switch of the present invention may perform the above replacement procedure only for signals from specific peripheral devices (such as a keyboard) that may affect the controlled computer. As for signals from other peripheral devices that do not affect the controlled computer, the KVM switch of the present invention will still transmit it directly to the controlled computer.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

KVM‧‧‧Multicomputer Switcher

TR1‧‧‧first transmission/reception module

TR2‧‧‧second transmission/reception module

CM‧‧‧ control module

PC1~PC3‧‧‧ controlled computer

MR‧‧‧ display

MS‧‧‧ Mouse

KB‧‧‧ keyboard

SG1‧‧‧ first signal

SG2‧‧‧second signal

SG3‧‧‧ third signal

M‧‧‧First Information

X‧‧‧Second information

SYN‧‧‧Synchronization section

PID‧‧‧Product ID section

CRC‧‧‧Cyclic Redundancy Check Section

S10~S22‧‧‧ Process steps

1 is a functional block diagram of a KVM switch coupled between a peripheral device and a controlled computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the replacement of the first data in the second signal with the second data to form a third signal.

3 is a flow chart showing a method of operating a KVM switch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is a KVM switch. In this embodiment, the KVM switch is coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers. In fact, the at least one peripheral device may be a Human Interface Device (HID), such as a keyboard or a mouse; the controlled computers may be a server host, a personal computer, or a notebook computer, but This is limited.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a KVM switch coupled between a peripheral device and a controlled computer in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the KVM switch is coupled between a plurality of peripheral devices MR, MS, and KB and a plurality of controlled computers PC1 to PC3.

In this embodiment, the KVM switch KVM includes a first transmitting/receiving module TR1, a second transmitting/receiving module TR2, and a control module CM. The first transmitting/receiving module TR1 is respectively coupled to the display MR, the mouse MS and the keyboard KB and communicates with the display MR, the mouse MS and the keyboard KB respectively; the second transmitting/receiving module TR2 respectively Coupled with the controlled computers PC1~PC3, and respectively communicated with the controlled computers PC1~PC3 for two-way signals; the control module CM is coupled to the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 and the second transmitting/receiving module respectively Group TR2.

In practical applications, the control module CM can be implemented by using an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), but not limited thereto; the KVM switch KVM can also include a first transmitting/receiving module. The multiple ports of the group TR1, such as the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, can be up to 127, but not limited thereto; the peripheral devices can be the display MR, the mouse MS and The keyboard KB can be coupled to the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 through the ports of the KVM switch KVM, and can be bidirectional with the KVM switch through, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) transmission protocol. Communicate, but not limited to this.

It should be noted that the present invention is in order to solve the problem that the function and operation of the KVM switch operating in a Bypass mode are affected by the hotkey data. For example, the KVM switch KVM in this embodiment operates in the bypass mode instead of operating in an Emulation mode.

First, the control module CM determines whether the hotkey mode of the KVM switch KVM is turned on. If the judgment result of the control module CM is YES, that is, the hotkey mode of the KVM switch KVM has been turned on, at this time, if the second transmission/reception module TR2 is specific to the controlled computers PC1~PC3 The controlled computer PC1 receives the first signal SG1, and the control module CM directly transfers the first signal SG1 to the first transmitting/receiving module TR1, and the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 directly directs the first signal SG1. It is transferred to the corresponding peripheral devices of the peripheral devices MR, MS and KB, such as the keyboard KB, but not limited thereto.

In fact, the KVM switch, which is a universal serial bus host (USB Host), can resolve different addresses of the peripheral devices MR, MS, and KB as a general-purpose serial bus device (USB Device). And Endpoint to identify which of the peripheral devices MR, MS and KB is the keyboard KB.

On the other hand, if the result of the control module CM is no, that is, the hotkey mode of the KVM switch KVM is not turned on, at this time, since no controlled computer PC1~PC3 is affected by the hotkey data. However, the KVM will maintain the original bypass mode operation, that is, the KVM switch will send the MRs, MSs and KBs from the peripheral devices through the second transmit/receive module TR2. The signals are directly transferred to the controlled computers PC1~PC3, and the signals from the controlled computers PC1~PC3 are directly transmitted to the peripheral devices MR, MS and KB through the first transmitting/receiving module TR1. There will be no procedures for signal processing of these signals.

When the KVM switch KVM directly transfers the first signal SG1 to the keyboard KB through the first transmitting/receiving module TR1, the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 of the KVM switch KVM waits for a predetermined period of time. Keyboard KB response. Therefore, when the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 of the KVM switch K1 receives a second signal SG2 within the predetermined time period, the control module CM of the KVM switch KVM first determines whether the second signal SG2 is From the keyboard KB. If the result of the control module CM is YES, that is, the second signal SG2 received by the first transmitting/receiving module TR1 is a response signal from the keyboard KB, the control module CM further determines whether the second signal SG2 is Includes a first data M.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned first data M includes the possibility that the controlled computers PC1~PC3 may have some effects and affect the functions and operations of the controlled computers PC1~PC3 (for example, they will automatically jump in the software processing software). The hotkey data (such as the Enter key or ESC key value or numeric key value) of the next line or the program screen that will automatically jump away from the original execution, or other similar information, but not limited to this.

If the result of the control module CM is YES, that is, the second signal SG2 does include the first data M which affects the function and operation of the controlled computer, the control module CM will be in the second signal SG2. The first data M is replaced by a second data X to form a third signal SG3. It should be noted that the second data X does not have any influence on the function and operation of the controlled computer, as long as it is the first data M that affects the function and operation of the controlled computer. Any information that does not affect the function and operation of the controlled computer belongs to the second data X. For example, the second data X may be a Negative Acknowledgement (NAK) signal, but not limited thereto. In fact, the second data X can only correspond to the specific controlled computer PC1 and does not have any effect on the specific controlled computer PC1; of course, the second data X can also correspond to the controlled computers PC1~PC3 at the same time and will not The controlled computers PC1~PC3 have any effect.

Then, the control module CM transmits the third signal SG3 including the second data X to the second transmitting/receiving module TR2, and transmits the third signal SG3 to the specific controlled computer by the second transmitting/receiving module TR2. PC1. Since the second data X included in the third signal SG3 does not have any influence on the specific controlled computer PC1, when the specific controlled computer PC1 receives the third signal SG3, the function and operation of the specific controlled computer PC1 are Without being affected, the function and operation of the prior art controlled computer is affected by the hotkey data and does not occur in the present invention.

In a practical application, the second transmitting/receiving module TR2 can be a switching circuit (Switch), and the control module CM controls the switching of the second transmitting/receiving module (switching circuit) TR2, so as to select to directly switch The second signal SG2 is transmitted to the specific controlled computer PC1, or the third signal SG3 after the replacement is transmitted to the specific controlled computer PC1.

When the determination result of the control module CM is YES, the control module CM replaces the first data M in the second signal SG2 with the second data X to form the third signal SG3. Switching the second transmission/reception module (switching circuit) TR2 to select to transmit the third signal SG3 to the specific controlled computer PC1; when the determination result of the control module CM is negative, the control module CM switches the second transmission/ The receiving module (switching circuit) TR2 selects to directly transfer the second signal SG2 to the specific controlled computer PC1.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the second signal SG2 from the keyboard KB sequentially includes a plurality of regions such as a synchronization segment SYN, a product identification code segment PID, a first data M, and a cyclic redundancy check segment CRC. In the segment, the control module CM determines that the second signal SG2 includes the first data M. Therefore, the control module CM replaces the first data M in the second signal SG2 with the second data X to form the third signal SG3.

It should be noted that, because the control module CM performs the above replacement process on the second signal SG2 to form the third signal SG3, the time when the keyboard KB outputs the second signal SG2 and the specific controlled computer PC1 receive the third signal are generated. There is a delay between the time points of SG3, but according to the experimental results, the delay time of this segment is not long, and it is still within the delay time allowed by the universal serial bus (USB) transmission protocol.

In practical applications, KVM switch KVM can also automatically respond to specific controlled computer PC1 and keyboard KB through the underlying logic automatic response mode. For example, KVM switch KVM is equipped with special application integrated circuit (ASIC). The automatic response engine is implemented to greatly reduce the processing time of its control module CM, so that the system response speed can be made faster.

On the other hand, if the control module CM determines that the second signal SG2 from the keyboard KB does not include the first data M, the second signal SG2 does not affect the operation of the specific controlled computer PC1, so the second transmission/ The receiving module TR2 directly transfers the second signal SG2 to the specific controlled computer PC1.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a KVM switch operating method. In this embodiment, the KVM switch operating method is used to operate a KVM switch, and the KVM switch is coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers. In fact, the at least one peripheral device may be a human interface device (HID), such as a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, but not limited thereto; the controlled computers may be server hosts, Personal computer or laptop, but not limited to this.

It should be noted that the KVM switch in this embodiment operates in the bypass mode instead of the analog mode. In other words, the KVM switch will directly relay the signals from the peripheral devices to the controlled computers, and directly transfer the signals from the controlled computers to the peripheral devices without These signals are used for any signal processing procedures.

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation method of the KVM switch in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S10, the method determines whether the hotkey mode of one of the KVM switches is turned on.

If the result of the determination in step S10 is YES, that is, the hotkey mode of the KVM switch has been turned on, in step S12, the KVM switch receives a first control computer from one of the controlled computers. A signal, the method proceeds to step S14, and directly transfers the first signal to a corresponding peripheral device in the at least one peripheral device.

If the result of the determination in the step S10 is NO, that is, the hotkey mode of the KVM switch is not turned on, at this time, the method maintains the original bypass mode and performs step S10 again. That is to say, in the original bypass mode, when the KVM switch receives the first signal from a specific controlled computer, the KVM switch directly transfers the first signal to a specific peripheral device; When the switch receives the second signal from the specific peripheral device, the KVM switch directly transfers the second signal to the specific controlled computer.

Next, in step S16, the KVM switch receives a second signal from a specific peripheral device for a predetermined period of time, and the method proceeds to step S18 to determine whether the second signal includes a first data. It should be noted that, in step S16, when the KVM switch receives the second signal, the method first determines whether the second signal is from a specific peripheral device, and if so, the method further performs step S18 to determine the second. Whether the signal includes the first data.

If the result of the step S18 is YES, that is, the second signal includes the first data, the method performs step S20, replacing the first data in the second signal with a second data to form a third signal, and The third signal is transmitted to a particular controlled computer, where the second data corresponds to a particular controlled computer and does not have any effect on a particular controlled computer.

If the result of the determination in step S18 is no, that is, the second signal does not include the first Data, the method will perform step S22 to directly transfer the second signal to a specific controlled computer.

Compared with the prior art, the KVM switch and the method of operating the same according to the present invention have the following advantages:

(1) When the KVM switch of the present invention operates in the bypass mode, even if the KVM switch receives hotkey data from a specific peripheral device (such as a keyboard) (for example, an Enter key, an ESC key value, or a numeric key value) ), the KVM switch will replace it with the second data and then transfer it to the controlled computer, so it can prevent the controlled computer from being affected by the hotkey data and cannot operate normally.

(2) Since the KVM switch may be coupled to a plurality of peripheral devices at the same time, the KVM switch of the present invention may perform the above replacement procedure only for signals from specific peripheral devices (such as a keyboard) that may affect the controlled computer. As for signals from other peripheral devices that do not affect the controlled computer, the KVM switch of the present invention will still transmit it directly to the controlled computer.

The features and spirit of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to cover various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the invention as claimed.

KVM‧‧‧Multicomputer Switcher

TR1‧‧‧first transmission/reception module

TR2‧‧‧second transmission/reception module

CM‧‧‧ control module

PC1~PC3‧‧‧ controlled computer

MR‧‧‧ display

MS‧‧‧ Mouse

KB‧‧‧ keyboard

SG1‧‧‧ first signal

SG2‧‧‧second signal

SG3‧‧‧ third signal

M‧‧‧First Information

X‧‧‧Second information

Claims (15)

A KVM switch operating method for operating a KVM switch, the KVM switch being coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers, the KVM switch operating method comprising the following steps: (a) determining whether the hotkey mode of the KVM switch is turned on; (b) if the result of the step (a) is YES, when the KVM switch receives from the controlled computers When a first signal of a specific controlled computer is directly transmitted to the corresponding specific peripheral device of the at least one peripheral device; (c) when the KVM switch receives the predetermined signal for a predetermined period of time; Determining whether the second signal includes a first data when the second signal is sent from the specific peripheral device; and (d) if the determination result in the step (c) is YES, the The first data is replaced with a second data to form a third signal and the third signal is transmitted to the specific controlled computer, wherein the second data corresponds to the specific controlled computer and is not controlled by the specific The computer has any effect. The method for operating a KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein the step (c) comprises the following steps: (c1) when the KVM switch receives the second signal, determining whether the second signal comes from And the specific peripheral device; and (c2) if the determination result of the step (c1) is YES, determining whether the second signal includes the first data. The method of operating a KVM switch according to claim 2, wherein the specific peripheral device is a Human Interface Device (HID). The method for operating a KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein if the step (a) If the determination result is no, the method further includes the following steps: (b') when the KVM switch receives the first signal from the specific controlled computer, directly transferring the first signal to the specific periphery And (c') when the KVM switch receives the second signal from the specific peripheral device, directly transferring the second signal to the specific controlled computer. The method of operating the KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein if the determination result of the step (c) is no, the method further comprises the following steps: (d') directly transferring the second signal to the Specific controlled computer. The KVM switch operating method of claim 1, wherein the KVM switch operates in a Bypass mode. The method of operating a KVM switch according to claim 1, wherein the first data includes hotkey data that affects the function and operation of the controlled computers. A KVM switch is coupled between at least one peripheral device and a plurality of controlled computers, the KVM switch comprising: a first transmitting/receiving module coupled to the at least one peripheral device; and a second a transmitting/receiving module coupled to the controlled computers; and a control module coupled to the first transmitting/receiving module and the second transmitting/receiving module respectively, the control module determining the multi-computer switching Whether one of the hotkey modes is turned on, and if so, the first transmitting/receiving module receives the first transmitting/receiving module from a specific controlled computer of the controlled computers The signal is directly transferred to a corresponding peripheral device in the at least one peripheral device. When the first transmitting/receiving module receives a second signal from the specific peripheral device for a predetermined time, the The control module determines whether the second signal includes a first data, and if so, the control module selects the second signal Replacing a data with a second data to form a third signal and transmitting the third signal to the specific controlled computer by the second transmitting/receiving module, wherein the second data corresponds to the specific controlled computer It does not have any effect on this particular managed computer. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein when the first transmitting/receiving module receives the second signal, the control module first determines whether the second signal is from the specific peripheral device. If yes, the control module further determines whether the second signal includes the first data. The KVM switch of claim 9, wherein the specific peripheral device is a human interface device. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein the first transmitting/receiving module directly directly uses the first signal if the control module determines that the hotkey mode of the KVM switch is not enabled. Transmitted to the specific peripheral device, the second transmitting/receiving module directly transfers the second signal to the specific controlled computer. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein if the control module determines that the second signal does not include the first data, the second transmitting/receiving module directly transfers the second signal Give this specific controlled computer. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein the KVM switch operates in a bypass mode. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein the second transmitting/receiving module is a switching circuit, and the switching module controls the switching of the switching circuit to select to directly transfer the switch The second signal is sent to the particular controlled computer or the third signal is transmitted to the particular controlled computer. The KVM switch of claim 8, wherein the first data includes Hotkey data that will affect the function and operation of these controlled computers.